What Are Advantages of Car Aluminum Besides Lightweight

The lightweight design of automobiles is mostly achieved by the use of aluminum alloys in a large proportion. But apart from being light, what other advantages of car aluminium?

At present, the 5xxx and 6xxx aluminum alloys are mainly used in the all-aluminum body of automobiles, featuring low density, good tensile strength and strong fatigue resistance, which can achieve higher strength at a much lower weight than steel. Aluminum grade 5083 and 6016 t6 aluminum are two common car aluminum.

In addition, a small amount of 2xxx and 7xxx aluminum are also used. 2xxxa Al-Cu alloy has high hardness and will be used in some body sheet metal parts. 7xxx aluminum is mainly used in the aviation and military fields, which are superhard, corrosion-resistant and wear-resistant. 7xxx aluminum sheets are often only used in key places. For example, in the Weilai ES8, only the longitudinal beams and other parts are made of 7003 aluminum.

Advantages of automotive aluminum sheet

1. Improve body strength and increase safety

In terms of absolute strength, aluminum alloys are slightly inferior to steel plates, but low density gives aluminum alloys greater advantages. For steel plates and aluminum alloys of the same strength, the thickness ratio is 1:1.4, and the weight ratio is 1:0.5. That is to say, the aluminum alloy only needs half the weight to achieve the same strength.

By increasing the thickness, the automotive aluminum sheets can achieve higher body rigidity and torsion resistance than high-strength steel.

2. Improve handling

Lightweight can reduce the inertia of the body, increase the thrust-to-weight ratio, and the power performance can be greatly improved under the same power level. After increasing the rigidity and torsion resistance of the body, it can leave more space for suspension adjustment and improve the limit of the body.

3. Superior corrosion resistance

Aluminum oxidation will form a dense oxide layer on the surface, and it will be firmly bonded to the substrate. The high stability can form a tight protection for the aluminum substrate. And in a humid atmospheric environment, this protective layer can thicken.

4. Better plasticity

Aluminum alloys can shape beautiful body surfaces, such as the aluminum body of Jaguar C-Type, D-Type, and "the most beautiful car" E-Type. There are still many cars that choose aluminum alloys for the hood and other positions for design considerations.

Many people wonder why the aluminum car body is not so common if it is really so good? The main reason is its high cost and complex processing technologies. Haomei Aluminum is a special car aluminum sheet manufacturer, having 5xxx and 6xxx aluminum like 6061 t6 aluminum.